1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to silk screen printing equipment and more specifically a registration system to enable accurate registration of a silk screen in relation to a printing surface which enables adjustment of the silk screen in a simple and efficient manner. The registration system includes support clamps for the silk screen frame together with mounting means for the support clamps which can be easily adjusted by rotating a single, large and readily accessible knob with the mounting structure for the silk screen being counterbalanced by an eccentric weight with the features of the registration system cooperating to enable accurate registration of the silk screen during multiple color printing operations.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
Silk screen printing processes are well-known in which a silk screen is engaged with a printing surface such as a fabric surface and the like and colors are printed on the surface by a roller or squeegee associated with the silk screen. When printing multi-color designs on a printing surface, successive silk screens are used to print the various colors thus requiring accurate registration of the silk screens in relation to the printing surface. Various structures have been provided to support the printing surface and the silk screen frames including rotatable turntables with spring-type or gas-type counterbalancing devices being provided for the silk screen frames all of which have enabled silk screen printing processes to be practiced. The following U.S. patents disclose structures relating to silk screen printing processes.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,613,595
2,796,831
2,881,700
3,098,431
3,427,964
4,084,504
While silk screen printing has been practiced and various improvements have been made in the basic process, including the improvements disclosed in the above listed patents, none of the above patents disclose the particular structure of this invention for adjustably supporting and counterbalancing the silk screen to enable more accurate registration of the silk screen with the printing surface.